Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Blood test to detect Babesia gibsoni infection in dogs using P50
By Fukumoto, Shinya et al.·Published in The Journal of parasitology·2004·Obihiro University of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Serodiagnosis of canine Babesia gibsoni infection by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with recombinant P50 expressed in Escherichia coli.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs was tested for a blood infection called Babesia gibsoni, which can cause serious health issues. Researchers developed a new test using a specific protein from the bacteria to help identify infected dogs. In a study, only 3 out of 209 dogs tested positive for the infection, showing that this new test can accurately detect the disease. This test could help veterinarians diagnose Babesia gibsoni more effectively in dogs, leading to better treatment options.
People also search for: dog Babesia gibsoni symptoms · how to test for Babesia in dogs · treatment for dog blood infection
Abstract
The entire P50 gene encoding a surface protein of Babesia gibsoni was cloned into the bacteria expression vector pGEX-4T-3 and subsequently expressed in Escherichia coli as a glutathione S-transferase fusion protein. The purified recombinant P50 was evaluated in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the serological diagnosis of B. gibsoni infection in dogs. ELISA was able to differentiate clearly among B. gibsoni-infected, Babesia canis-infected, and uninfected dog sera. The antibody response against the recombinant P50 was maintained at a high level until the chronic stage of infection in dogs experimentally infected with B. gibsoni. When serum samples collected from domestic dogs in Japan were examined for the diagnosis of B. gibsoni infection by the ELISA, 3 of 209 samples (1.4%) were positive for the antibody to B. gibsoni. This result was completely identical to those of Western blot analysis and the indirect fluorescent antibody test. These results indicate that the recombinant P50 expressed in E. coil is a useful diagnostic antigen for practical use in the diagnosis of B. gibsoni infection in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15165064/